Government backs New Town at Monard, Co. Cork

AshAdele

just saw this in the evening echo, is a new town in Monard really needed when there are 300,000 empty house in Ireland nearly 6500 of which are in cork.

they plan to build 5000 homes here :eek:(half way between blackpool and blarney). at least the planners are thinking ahead and haaving the town set up on a railway link.

Cork County Council Press Release, 8 June 2010

Government backs New Town at Monard, Co. Cork

The Government’s decision to designate almost 1,000 acres at Monard, Co. Cork, as a Strategic Development Zone (SDZ), enables Cork County Council to undertake detailed planning of the proposed new town and supporting infrastructure, according to Cork County Council. The Council needs to start this detailed planning phase now, so that when the market in new housing eventually recovers, the pattern of development which emerges is compact and sustainable. Monard is close to Cork City, and will be served by Cork’s suburban rail system. There is a lead time of 3-4 years before any housing construction can start at Monard, so the Council cannot afford to wait until a recovery is underway, and then start detailed planning.

County Manager, Martin Riordan, said the SDZ designation, which will involve use of special planning procedures, follows a submission to Government by the Council. “It reflects the long term strategic aims of the Cork Area Strategic Plan (CASP) which saw population and employment growth focused on locations served by public transport. In any recovery, the SDZ will strengthen the emerging east-west residential and business corridor which includes Little Island, Carrigtwohill, Cork Docklands, Kilbarry and Blarney, and is served by rail. This will make the Greater Cork Area more attractive for foreign direct and indigenous investment, which is always encouraged by the availability of public transport and easy access to employment.”

The proposed SDZ covers 391 hectares (966 acres), north west of the village of Rathpeacon, and midway between Blackpool and Blarney, on the Cork-Mallow rail line. Monard is intended to have 5,000 dwellings and a population of c.13,000 on completion A new town at Monard is part of the CASP strategy. Following a more detailed assessment, the proposal for a town at Monard was adopted by Cork County Council in 2005, in the Blarney-Kilbarry Special Local Area Plan.

Preparation of the SDZ Planning Scheme
More detailed design of the new town and associated infrastructure will be carried out over the next 18 months, and it is intended that the Draft SDZ Planning Scheme will be formally submitted to the elected members of Cork County Council in the second half of 2011. Local residents and other members of the public will have the right to make submissions for consideration by the elected members. If the SDZ Scheme is adopted by the Council, it can then be appealed to An Bord Pleanála. Allowing for this, processing of the SDZ scheme should be complete by late 2012.

The Council is well aware that resumption of residential development in Cork depends on a recovery in employment. Regional economic strategy is a priority for the Council and other regional agencies. The 2008 CASP Update identified market services, innovation/research links with 3rd level educational institutions, as key areas of opportunity, and emphasised the need for a Labour Force/Skills Strategy.

A New Form of Forward Planning for Cork
Monard will represent a new departure, as the previous generation of ‘satellite towns’ established by Cork County Council from the 1970s onwards involved expansion of pre-existing towns or villages, with some services already in place, whereas Monard will be a completely new town, in which all facilities will have to be provided from scratch. This is a more challenging task, and one in which the Government’s decision to designate Monard as an SDZ is very helpful. SDZ Schemes have to include proposals on the provision of amenities and community facilities, including schools, and the government commitment involved in SDZ designation will help ensure that the various public services and infrastructure needed are provided in a timely and coordinated way. An SDZ will provide greater certainty and a long term vision for the town, and strengthen confidence in the project amongst landowners, developers and potential residents.

SDZ Planning Schemes are more detailed than a normal development plan, and define design, scale, finishes and layout more precisely. While the Scheme itself can be appealed, if it is approved by An Bord Pleanala, subsequent planning applications are not subject to appeal, and are granted or refused, based on whether they conform to it. The Council should be in a stronger than normal position to deliver on the intentions of the SDZ Scheme.

For further Information contact:

Mr. Ger O’Mahony Head of Function Tel: 021-4285364
Dr. Nicholas Mansergh Senior Planner Tel: 021-4285951

in the Forward Planning and Infrastructural Development Department, County Hall, Cork

cordub

AshAdele wrote: »

just saw this in the evening echo, is a new town in Monard really needed when there are 300,000 empty house in Ireland nearly 6500 of which are in cork.

they plan to build 5000 homes here :eek:(half way between blackpool and blarney). at least the planners are thinking ahead and haaving the town set up on a railway link.

FFS are they bloody serious. what about all the new abandoned housing estates in cork that we are probably going to be paying for via NAMA????? Another backhander for buddy buddy property developers??? Why do we need another town built??? Will they put in schools etc unlike when they allow builders build ghost estates in the ass hole of nowhere that we are now all paying for ??Yet you have people who want to buy a small site in the country and planning regulations mean that you cant because you have to be from the area, what a load of horse s****e !!! so annoyed!!!:mad::mad::mad:

Needler

What a ridiculous scheme. If its built it will surely become a ghetto fairly fast

-Corkie-

Needler wrote: »

What a ridiculous scheme. If its built it will surely become a ghetto fairly fast

+1 on that. What about building some decent infrastructure first..

ongarboy

this has cropped up in the news again this morning. I would question the need for a brand new commuter town for Cork city. The population of Cork City proper has fallen in every census for the last 20 years or so (about 119,000 per the 2011 census) It used to be around 136,000.

While the greater/suburban Cork area's population has increased to around 200,000, there are plenty of brownfield sites in Cork city that could be transformed into attractive urban living areas with mid to high density accommodation that would make public trainsport such as rail connections viable as well as allowing new residents to be close to all the amenities a vibrant city has to offer. Building another Carrigaline type town with low density semi-d estates and all the car dependant traffic that goes with it does not seem like good urban planning imo. As someone else said, what about all the ghost estates lying idle also. The 12500 residents they are proposing in Monard could easily be absorbed in existing housing stock.

What are people's thoughts?

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0612/1224317753674.html

JupiterKid

ongarboy wrote: »

this has cropped up in the news again this morning. I would question the need for a brand new commuter town for Cork city. The population of Cork City proper has fallen in every census for the last 20 years or so (about 119,000 per the 2011 census) It used to be around 136,000.

While the greater/suburban Cork area's population has increased to around 200,000, there are plenty of brownfield sites in Cork city that could be transformed into attractive urban living areas with mid to high density accommodation that would make public trainsport such as rail connections viable as well as allowing new residents to be close to all the amenities a vibrant city has to offer. Building another Carrigaline type town with low density semi-d estates and all the car dependant traffic that goes with it does not seem like good urban planning imo. As someone else said, what about all the ghost estates lying idle also. The 12500 residents they are proposing in Monard could easily be absorbed in existing housing stock.

What are people's thoughts?

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0612/1224317753674.html

If this new "town" goes ahead then Cork City Council can kiss goodbye to their ambitious plans for redeveloping the docks area for good.

I agree with Ongarboy - a new town is not needed. Cork city itself needs regeneration and suburban infill development. A glance of a street map of Cork will show you that there still are many sites on the Mahon "peninsula" in suburban Cork, for instance, that remain undeveloped.

deRanged

I can't wait to hear where all these people will work, and get the money to pay for these new houses!

Markcheese

Do people think that no new houses will ever be built again in cork.. Yeah Monard (the plan) may not be needed for years maybe decades ( I hope not) , but should there be nothing planned till the last house in the arse hole of Leitrim or Cavan is sold.
Yeah it's unlikely that there'll be another boom next year but the planners in Cc are working on F all else, we're still paying them any way and a plan means you have Something to work to , unlike the last boom when there was no balincolig or Carrigaline designated and everything got thrown up every where and anywhere (except crookstown ?)

kub

Markcheese wrote: »

Do people think that no new houses will ever be built again in cork.. Yeah Monard (the plan) may not be needed for years maybe decades ( I hope not) , but should there be nothing planned till the last house in the arse hole of Leitrim or Cavan is sold.
Yeah it's unlikely that there'll be another boom next year but the planners in Cc are working on F all else, we're still paying them any way and a plan means you have Something to work to , unlike the last boom when there was no balincolig or Carrigaline designated and everything got thrown up every where and anywhere (except crookstown ?)

You are correct the planners are working on F all else, so send them out to fill in pot holes, cut grass and brush the streets. The place is looking shabby.

Aard

^That's not exactly what planners do...

corkipedia

I added a new page about Monard to Corkipedia:

http://www.corkipedia.com/wiki/Monard